Mini T. rex skeleton fetches $47.3M

A Nanotyrannus skeleton sold for $47.3 million at a New York City auction on Tuesday, establishing it as the second most expensive dinosaur fossil in history.

The specimen, nicknamed Jodi, exceeded the auction house estimate of $6 million to $9 million. Sotheby’s reported the sale price, which trails only the $50.1 million paid for a T. rex fossil known as Gus earlier this year. The sale was conducted via a live format that combined online and telephone bidding.

The new owner remains anonymous. The buyer outbid five other prospective participants during the roughly 12 minute auction event. Sotheby’s displayed the skeleton at its upper Manhattan headquarters prior to the sale.

Jodi measures 9 feet 6 inches in height and stretches nearly 20 feet in length. The specimen is approximately 70 percent complete. It belongs to a genus that coexisted with Tyrannosaurus rex during the Cretaceous period, roughly 67 million years ago. Nanotyrannus individuals were about half the size of adult T. rex, possessed longer forelimbs, and had larger hand claws.

The dinosaur was discovered in 2019 on the Montana land of rancher Jodi Pierson. She has been credited with finding the specimen. Sotheby’s cited the team of professional fossil hunters who excavated the bones. Cassandra Hatton, the head of science and natural history at Sotheby’s, noted that their commitment helped bring the specimen to market.

Research published last year confirmed that Nanotyrannus is a distinct genus rather than a juvenile T. rex. This classification resolves a decades long scientific debate. Jodi is one of only three known skeletons of this type. Some scientists have argued that such specimens should reside in museums to allow for public viewing and research, rather than in private collections.

The sale price reflects the market value of rare, nearly complete specimens. The auction house highlighted the scientific importance of the find in its promotional materials. The specimen’s physical traits, including slender blade like teeth, distinguish it from its larger relative.